The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What 35 Years of Running Have Taught Me About Winning, Losing, Happiness, Humility, and the Human Heart by Amby Burfoot

Monday, March 18, 2013, 07:07 PMPosted by LFPL Readers Corner

submitted by Tommy

When I picked this up to read I didn’t notice the sub-title, but as it turns out I too have been running 35 years (with some interruptions because of injury or life.) For the most part I’m not into motivational books, but since Amby Burfoot seems like a really cool guy and was once a great runner, I thought I’d give it a try.

It is surprisingly good! At 150 pages it is a quick read but it is packed full of wisdom and fun. Yes, Fun! The book itself is fun, nothing too deep and depressing. He emphasizes that running should be fun. There will be some work and some obstacles at times, but isn’t that just what life is? But the pleasures as well as the health benefits (both mentally and physically) are tenfold.

Amby was in his mid-50’s when he wrote this, so it is from the wise perspective of a once great runner who is slowing down. He isn’t trying to teach us how to go out and run fast and hard, but instead he is instructing us to go out and ENJOY running to the best of our individual ability and we will learn much about life and ourselves in the process.

He also emphasizes that It is possible for all of us to take part. We may experience losing, failure, and probably injuries, but it helps us in everyday life when we are bound to experience the same challenges. Everyone who runs is a winner. The only opponent is yourself.

He has many quotes and one of his favorites is by Rudyard Kipling (the end of the poem, IF).

"If you can fill the unforgiving minuteWith sixty seconds' worth of distance run,Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!"

I have always liked that poem, but I had never noticed the importance of these lines before in relation to running. Don’t worry about your running time too much is the lesson here. Just run! He also gives a list of his heroes and a list of essential reading. Both are nice.

My favorite chapter/lesson in the book is #7: LISTENING. Running is my meditation time. Walking can be the same, but to a lesser degree. He describes it well with his line, “...the sound of mindless thoughts flitting through my head.” Since Amby is a writer/editor he also notes how easy it is to write while running. He quotes Joyce Carol Oates,

“Running! If there’s any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can’t think what it might be…”

All runners should read this book and anyone who is trying to understand a runner should also read this. Read this book…and go for a run!

Editor’s note: Please use the “add a comment” button below to leave any response you may have about the book or the review.

Considering the ever-growing popularity that the television drama Downton Abbey has enjoyed over its three seasons, it would seem appropriate to provide readers with a list of books that would potentially appeal to those who are enamored with the story line, time period, and social changes that are chronicled in this incredibly-detailed series.

Teenagers today breath, sleep, and eat technology. They are either texting, chatting on Facebook, or sending tweets with Twitter. This is how Abby Johnston and her best friend, Faith, meet Luke. They are chatting with each other on a new teen website called ChezTeen.com. Soon Abby is chatting with Luke daily even though he is older. Gradually the story becomes even more intriguing and also scary. Luke has Abby doing things that are very uncomfortable for her but she wants to do things for him because he “loves” her.

I must admit that when I first started reading Want to Go Private, I was a little bit thrown. It is an older teen novel but some of the content was very adult in nature. As I got more into the story, I realized that it is a perfect book for parents to read and also share with their kids.

It is a great example of the dangers of the Internet and what can happen when you act recklessly on the web. I believe that every parent of a child who has access to a computer should read this book. It changed my life and could possibly save a child.

Editor’s note: Please use the “add a comment” button below to leave any response you may have about the book or the review.

I’m absolutely smitten with a very brave and impish girl named Small, who on the cover of this enchanting book stands in comparison to a very large paw print embedded in snow. To say that the print is large would be a misnomer. It’s enormous, and if you flip through the pages you will eventually get a glimpse of its creator, a magical black dog who seems to terrorize everyone in the Hope family…except Small.

This fractured fairy tale will have mass appeal for the 8 and under set. It’s got martial arts and a female hero. There are good guys and bad guys and if that’s not enough a killer rhyme scheme. The street smart text just begs to be read with a little sass. Did I mention there’s loads of action illustrated through quality digital animation style artwork as well as a great moral demonstrating that hard work pays off? There’s that too.

Moose is pushy, impatient, and a little unstable but somehow I ended up finding the self-proclaimed star of this alphabet book endearing. Don’t miss the tantrums of poor Moose who just can’t wait for his turn to shine.

Big Mean Mike is all that his name advertises. He’s into monster truck shows, stomping in his big black boots, and wearing a lot of leather. One day while driving his (big mean) hot rod, Mike encounters some tiny fluffy bunnies that cause him to expand his view of himself regardless of what people think of him.

Editor’s note: Please use the “add a comment” button below to leave any response you may have about the book or the review.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo

Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 09:48 AMPosted by LFPL Readers Corner

submitted by Caren

I had read some rave reviews of Behind the Beautiful Forevers, which is why I picked it up. Wow! I read through practically in one gulp, hardly coming up for air. This is one compelling read, and the truly stunning thing about it is that it is all true. You simply cannot walk away untouched.

Katherine Boo is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has covered social inequalities in the past. This is her first book, in which she chronicles several years (from late 2007 to early 2011) in the lives of select families living in a slum near the Mumbai International Airport. I am absolutely amazed at the way she was able to get into the hearts and minds of those she studied. As others have said, it reads like a novel, the characterizations are so finely-drawn.

Yes, we have gross inequalities in our own society, but I doubt anything can touch what you will read in these pages. The well-considered thoughts with which she leaves us at the end of the story will haunt you:

"Every country has its myths, and one that successful Indians liked to indulge was a romance of instability and adaptation - the idea that their country's rapid rise derived in part from the chaotic unpredictability of daily life. In America and Europe, it was said, people know what is going to happen when they turn on the water tap or flick the light switch. In India, a land of few safe assumptions, chronic uncertainty was said to have helped produce a nation of quick-witted, creative problem-solvers. Among the poor, there was no doubt that instability fostered ingenuity, but over time the lack of a link between effort and result could become debilitating. 'We try so many things', as one Annawadi girl put it, 'but the world doesn't move in our favor.'" (p.219)

I have a feeling I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

Editor’s note: Please use the “add a comment” button below to leave any response you may have about the book or the review.